Saturday, August 31, 2013

Memes from various sources based on an image from CHILDCRAFT: THE HOW AND WHY LIBRARY (VOLUME 1)--POEMS AND RHYMES. Published by World Book / Childcraft International in 1979, Illustrated by Mary Horton.

The expanse, the large scale of the locations, the extreme isolation, the stark nature of black and white photography... it is all quite arresting...perhaps even shocking. I mean, just look at the moving work of London-based photographer Rupert Vandervell. The lighting is perfection, the composition is sublime, and the import of these images carries quite a weight.

The third one down, entitled Eventide, reminds me of my recent "Stuck In Traffic" post, here, in which my photos of the roadside from my stopped car looked like abstract paintings... it even has a yellow line bisecting the image!

Top to bottom: 2; Curtains of the Sky; Eventide; Plunge; Rose 2; The Unending

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

LOVE this brand new song from the Brooklyn band Color War (Billy J and Lindsay Mound). They bill their sound as "EPIC POP SOUNDTRACKS FROM THE DESERT OF DREAMS."
Indeed.
*sigh*
I love how her voice cracks when she sings "shooting stars" at 2:38...

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Based on HIS DARK MATERIALS, a trilogy of books for young people by Philip Pullman, this film was supposed to have been the first of a trilogy of films as well. But Jeff, you ask, where are the other two films? Well, there's a funny story about that which I will get to.

But first, the film: Although I have not read Pullman's books, I saw this film when it came out in '07 and it was perfectly fine. As with any book translated to film, some things from the book make it into the film, some don't: that is the nature of condensing a book (which has the luxury of--and space for--exposition) into a 90 or 120 minute experience. Of course not having read the books, I was not aware of anything missing, or added for that matter. I can only react to what was presented to me in the film. And with some spectacular special effects and an equally spectacular cast (Daniel Craig, Nicole Kidman, Sir Ian McKellan, Sam Elliott, Ian McShane, Eva Green, Freddie Highmore, Derek Jacobi, Christopher Lee), I found the film to be well done, entertaining, visually alluring (with its marvelous Jules-Verne-esque/ Edwardian/ 1930s design), and very well acted.

The story takes place in an alternate universe, on an earth slightly different from ours, where each human being has a soul that lives outside of the body in the form of an animal companion. This separate repository for a soul is called a "dæmon," pronounced DEE-mon, which has nothing whatsoever to do with a nasty evil monster, but instead is a term from Classical Mythology meaning an attendant spirit. In the world of "The Golden Compass," one's animal spirit can change forms until one passes through puberty when the animal settles into a single appearance. So children's dæmons for example, can fluctuate between cats, dogs, birds, rabbits, and so on. But adults have an eagle, or a monkey, or a jaguar, for example, as a dæmon.

Now, every story has to have a conflict and the conflict plaguing the world of "The Golden Compass" is eerily reminiscent of one we have in our universe, here on our very own earth. In this alternate world, there is a powerful, repressive religion called The Magisterium which attempts to control every aspect of people's lives. This religion has been in power for many, many years and has amassed great wealth and influence. And that wealth and influence come directly from keeping people ignorant about the reality of the world around them. Scientists have discovered a sub-atomic particle they call "dust" which flows from a rift in space into all people's dæmons, and then directly into each human being. They are eager to discover the nature of this energy, the reason for the existence of this particle, and where it comes from. But of course The Magisterium is threatened by such thoughts and ideas which could serve to undermine the made-up stories they use to control the population. If The Magisterium were to be seen for what it truly is, a fascistic organization that opposes any kind of advancement or progress for human beings by spreading made-up nonsense, then they would certainly be destroyed. So how better to stop this threat than to find a way to separate children from their dæmons, effectively taking a human's very soul from them, rendering them a sort of half-lobotomized sheep, ready to do anything The Magisterium says without a fight, without a thought... a true flock. That is the goal of The Magisterium which sees knowledge and self-awareness as evils to be eradicated. If The Church can create followers who shun knowledge and self-awareness, then The Church has the perfect, pliable congregation who will obey absolutely.

And this is where the story starts: enter a plucky little girl named Lyra (played by a perfectly capable and thoroughly believable Dakota Blue Richards), whose uncle (Daniel Craig) is one of the aforementioned scientists in search of the truth about the mysterious "dust." She becomes entangled with The Magisterium and a cold, cruel emissary of The Church, one Mrs. Coulter (Nicole Kidman). In a world of witches, and a race of sentient, talking Ice Bears, she embarks on a mission to rescue the children The Magisterium is experimenting on.

What could go wrong with a film series like this? Weeeeeell, enter our very own version of The Magisterium. At the time of the film's release by New Line Cinema, a group calling itself The Catholic League launched a two-month long protest campaign, claiming that author Philip Pullman was "trying to undermine the basis of Christian belief" with his original written trilogy which The League feared promoted "atheism for kids." New Line Cinema had made preparations for the second installment of the trilogy, called "The Subtle Knife" but said the sequel was dependent on performance of "The Golden Compass" at the box office. Domestic receipts for the opening weekend only (not for the run) were supposedly disappointing but total sales included profits outside the United States which, according to Wiki, were described as "stellar" by Variety and as "astonishing" by New Line itself. But despite the forward momentum and huge profits, the rest of the series was scrapped. Star Sam Elliott has been quite vocal about the reason for this, blaming the censorship of the Catholic Church.

Ultimately, it is sickly ironic that a film about a dangerous, powerful, repressive church which fears knowledge and free thought was censored by a dangerous, powerful, repressive church which fears knowledge and free thought. If it weren't true, it would be funny. But it is true... The reason the church fears such ideas being made available to children is that, if not indoctrinated at an early age, the church knows it will lose them as followers. Keeping children in the dark, sometimes literally, is their version of cutting the connection between a child and his or her dæmon, which is the soul... and source of genuine and authentic "self." The modus operandi of both churches is "Don't Think, Don't Wonder, Don't Ask." Knowledge is portrayed as a vice, an evil. That's why we have actual grown adults in the United States at this moment who think that the earth is only 6,000 years old and that we were all made by a supernatural being from dirt and a rib. And in fact, of the boycott of the film, author Pullman said, "Why don't we trust readers? Why don't we trust filmgoers? Oh, it causes me to shake my head with sorrow that such nitwits could be loose in the world."

The League can't see that their boycott and subsequent destruction of the film series only served to prove the film and its portrayal of the church correct.

And finally, I would of course be remiss if I did not mention the theme song which plays over the closing credits... the song "Lyra" was recorded by my idol, the legendary Kate Bush.

Recommend? Yes. It has some small flaws, like the set-up at the beginning (which is quite difficult to explain even in print), but that is a minor quibble. It is actually a smart, beautiful film with a lot to say. See it.

Part Maurice Sendak (previously here and here), part Edward Gorey (previously here), and part Dr. Suess, the melancholy monsters in Jeannie Lynn Paske's work are sad because they have lost their place in the world. Paske tells the story of the name of her website in her Artist Statement:

"'Obsolete World' is a name that was originally taken from the 1961 Twilight Zone episode 'The Obsolete Man' where in a future totalitarian state, Burgess Meredith’s character (a librarian) is a man put on trial for the crime of being obsolete. I had always loved that episode and I pictured a similar scenario in which the make-believe creatures of childhood suffer a similar 'crime' as one grows old. I took to the task of conserving these victims of consequence and created 'Obsolete World' as a place where my own creations could safely while away the hours."

Top to bottom: All Innocent To The Fascinating Combination Of Absurdity And Devotion; All That It Is To Remember; Flight Of The Recently Departed; Facer Of The Aftermath; Flowering The Ghost; Nightmare Ending (back); Time Enough At Last

About Me

About "Oh, By The Way"

"Oh, By The Way" is my digital scrap book of things I like, things I would share with a close friend and say: “Oh, by the way, do you know of this artist/ clothing or interior designer/ model/ singer/ actor/ gorgeous man… or, have you seen this video/ photo/ film... or heard (or do you remember) this song/ band... or, read this book/ poem/ inspiring quote... or, visited this place/ restaurant/ famous building... or, have you heard of this amazing new scientific discovery?”

I am dedicated to posting the positive, the fascinating, the beautiful, the interesting, the moving, and the inspiring and uplifting. Sometimes I post cultural as well as personal observations, milestones, and remembrances. And just like life, all of these things may often have a bit of melancholy or even sadness in them, which is what makes our time here so lovely and bittersweet and precious.

Some of the photos, art, poetry, and prose are my own original work, credited with my initials, JEF. When it isn't, I always try to post links to the original source material, but often I find photos on the web that are not linked or other material that is not sourced. In these instances, I post them without malice since it is assumed that such things, by being globally posted on something as uncontrollable as the internet to begin with, are in the public domain. If you identify the source of an image that is not linked, please politely let me know (without accusing me of theft) and I will be happy to provide a link.

I hope to inspire and entertain my readers with things that inspire and entertain ME. There is a startling amount of beauty and creativity in the world and it enriches us all to participate in it.

All-time Favorite Films

2001: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick)

After Hours (Hysterical, hair-raising ride through NYC at night)

Amelie

American Beauty (Alan Ball)

Baraka (Stunning, transcending—the "spiritus mundi" on film)

Belle et Bete (Cocteau)

Big Sleep, The (The epitome of film noir)

Bringing Up Baby (Hepburn & Grant—the epitome of screwball comedy)

Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover, The (Greenaway)

Crash (Cronenberg—DIFFICULT subject, not for everyone)

Don’t Look Now (Nicolas Roeg—ultimate modern gothic horror)

Drowning By Numbers (Greenaway)

Easy Rider

Edward II (Derek Jarman)

Erendira (From magic realist Marquez’ brilliant short story)

Eyes Wide Shut (Kubrick's last film)

Fearless (Jeff Bridges—life and death)

Funny Bones (Leslie Caron, Jerry Lewis, and the brilliant Lee Evans)

Holiday (Hepburn & Grant)

Howard’s End (The ultimate statement of the unfairness of class systems)